Dashing opener David Warner may lead the Australin team in place of an injured Steven Smith during the upcoming limited-overs series against India starting January 12.
Knee and hip niggles have been bothering Smith for sometime but he is a certainty as far as the upcoming Boxing Day or New Year Test against West Indies is concerned.
But the the selectors and team medical staff may decide to rest him from portions of the five-match ODI series against India, according to a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
The management are certainly taking no chances and want Smith to be fit and raring to go for the February tour of New Zealand and also the Twenty20 matches to be played in the lead-up to the World T20 in India in March.
Smith's absence from the opening rounds of the Big Bash league that is slated between now and Boxing Day is an indication that his knee needs proper care in the coming months. He has carried the problem since the latter part of the Ashes tour.
Coach and selector Darren lehmann has conceded that furthur breaks for Smith would be discussed. "He keeps telling me he is 26 but [in Hobart] he was running as though he is 36. The pressure of captaincy is quite large. We have to look at that but we get a decent break now with two weeks off. He is not playing BBl so he gets a good break.
"The ODIs are important to us and then the T20 World Cup so I can't see him getting a break until the end of the summer, unless we play really well or the niggles get worse. I'm no medical expert but [rest] is what they are saying. They will say what he can or can't do and if I disagree with it he plays and if I don't he might not play," lehmann said.
Australia will be hosting India in January, where they will play five ODIs and three T20 matches.
marsh or khawaja may open vs wi
Shaun Marsh or the returning Usman Khawaja are in the frame to open Australia's innings in the Boxing Day Test against the West Indies, coach Darren lehmann said.
Khawaja, who scored 174 and 121 batting three against New Zealand before he injured a hamstring, has been included in a 13-man squad for the second Test starting in Melbourne on December 26.
Khawaja's replacement, Marsh, has made a strong case for his retention with his highest Test score of 182 in Australia's innings and 212-run win over the West Indies in Hobart.
While the expectation is that either Marsh or Khawaja will miss out in Melbourne, coach lehmann raised the prospect of one of them playing as opener, possibly at the expense of Joe Burns.
"I would be comfortable with Khawaja opening the batting, but the captain (Steve Smith) might not want that, so we have to work that out," lehmann told reporters.